Imagine a team consisting of a Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España winner (Nairo Quintana), a former world champion (Rui Costa), a Grand Tour podium finisher (Esteban Chaves), winners of 89 and 52 career sprints (Elia Viviani and Fernando Gaviria), a winner of multiple Spring Classics (Michael Valgren) and a Tour de France yellow jersey wearer (Mike Teunissen). Quite the team of eight, collectively capable of winning sprints, challenging for the GC, and triumphing from the break.
The composite of eight riders might all be in their 30s, almost certainly their best years behind them, but they’re still capable of winning bike races themselves or helping teammates to do so. What binds them together is that each of them is one of the estimated 100 WorldTour riders still without a confirmed contract for 2025.
Some of them will be assured of their future – Colombians Quintana and Gaviria are reportedly said to be close to re-signing for Movistar – but for most of them they’ve now reached panic stations, frantically ringing their agents, asking for updates, pleading for good news.
Nairo Quintana is still without a contract for 2025
“It’s a horrible situation to be in,” says Israel-Premier Tech’s Simon Clarke. Three years ago, the Australian was without a contract until Israel became aware of his availability over the Christmas period. “There are a few people in my team with undecided futures and I feel for them because I can genuinely say I’ve been there before,” he continues. “The big transfer window starts at the Tour de France, and the absolute latest it finishes is the Worlds. If you’ve not got a solution after the Worlds, it’s probably not looking good. Even now, there’ll be riders who just don’t know.”
Of the riders scrapping around for contracts, more than 60% of them are under 30. Some have previously been tipped for greatness (Lucas Hamilton and Milan Vader, both 28), and some are just at the start of their promising careers (Luis-Joe Lührs, 21; and Harrison Wood, 24). “If you’re under 35 and feel like you’ve got a lot more to give to the sport, it’s definitely a tough moment,” says Clarke. “But if I was out of contract this year at 38, I’d have a much different reaction because now I’m satisfied with what I’ve achieved.” Clarke has one year remaining on his contract before probably retiring.
Simon Clarke found himself in a similar position three years ago before signing with Israel-Premier Tech
Although cycling transfers can’t be formally announced until August 1, teams begin negotiations at the very start of the season. It doesn’t follow, however, that riders will know if they’re being kept on at an early date. “The worst situation you can be in is when you’ve just ridden OK,” says Clarke. “When you’ve ridden badly, the team tells you early doors that they’re not interested in renewing you, and you actively go out and find a different solution – and often there is a solution. But when you’ve done just OK, teams like to keep their options open: they don’t say no to you, but they don’t give assurances. It keeps your hopes high that there’s still opportunities with the team, but then later on in the year you might find out that they did find someone to fill your spot, and then you’ve got barely any time to find a new team.”
Almost all riders have agents working on their behalf, but in some cases, riders take the issue into their own hands, calling team managers directly to argue their own case. “Any team in the WorldTour already knows a big percentage of the peloton so you don’t really have to tell them too much,” Clarke explains. “Once you start talking, you give the team access to your Training Peaks or whatever training app you use, and they crunch the numbers themselves to see if you’re already at your max potential or if you’ve still got space to improve.”
The wait for some goes on and on, and in many cases an unwanted retirement is forced upon them. But in the case of Clarke in 2022 and fellow veteran Domenico Pozzovivo in the last three seasons, a team can still occasionally be found at the eleventh hour. “You just have to keep believing and hoping and trusting in your agent,” says Clarke. “Because no-one else is out there helping you find a job.”
